‘It Feels Like Fun, It Feels Like Fair’; that is the slogan for the 91st State Fair of West Virginia, which will be held from August 14th to 23rd. A joy to experience since its inception in 1921, the #SFWV is known as the ultimate annual family event in the Greenbrier Valley, attracting visitors from all across the Mountain State and beyond.
Over the past 7 years, Fair attendees have trembled with excitement watching the U.S. FMX Championship Series, one of America’s top stunt tours. FMX Motocross, the high-flying, death-defying extreme sport packed with flips, tricks, and excitement, has gained immense popularity over the past decade through nationally televised events such as the X Games and Red Bull X-Fighters. The U.S. FMX Championship Series, which consists of 10 rounds touring the Northeastern United States, gives spectators an exhilarating look into the world of Freestyle Motocross.
The U.S. FMX Championship Series will be right in the home stretch of the season when it visits Fairlea, West Virginia on the final day of the Fair, further elevating the pressure on the riders to perform out-of-this-world tricks. For the series, judges score contestants based on a 100-point scale, searching for the most difficult tricks and variations in the air. The victor of each round receives 10 points toward their season total, while 2nd place garners the rider 8 points, 3rd place gets 7 points, and so on.
Tricks we should expect to observe include flips with combos, cliffhangers (where the rider, arms reaching for the sky, hangs above the motorcycle with their feet under the handlebars.), Kiss of Death (where the rider literally kisses the front fender of his motorcycle in a trick demonstrating strong athleticism), and many more. If we are lucky, we may witness a double-backflip, a move that was once thought of as impossible until the great Travis Pastrana performed one in 2006 during the X Games. Since then, the trick has been more common in competition, but is still tremendously difficult to land.
This FMX Motocross event is certain to bring the Grandstand viewers to their feet, get hearts pumping, and create memories for the whole family. Admission is free with paid gate admission.
Other Grandstand shows include concerts by: Alabama on Friday the 14th at 8pm; Third Day on Saturday the 15th at 8pm; Phil Dirt Presents: Surf’s Up, a Tribute to the Beach Boys on Sunday the 16th at 6pm; The Bellamy Brothers on Monday the 17th at 7:30pm; Easton Corbin with A Thousand Horses on the 18th at 8pm; The Marshall Tucker Band on the 19th at 7:30pm; 3 Doors Down on the 20th at 8pm; Roots & Boots Tour on the 21st at 8pm; and Buckin’ B Bull Ride w/ Craig Wayne Boyd on the 22nd at 6:30pm.
Follow the WV State Fair on facebook.com/StateFairofWV or Twitter.com/SFWV. Notable hashtags will be: #SFWV2015 #WVFairTastic and #WVFairFabulous
– Ben Anderson, LBSPY #68. August 2015.
HASHTAGWV ART & ENTERTAINMENT Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Christina Entenmann-Edwards has been a WV resident since September 2008. She was born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and is no stranger to hard work and the entrepreneurial spirit. In 2006, she graduated from Quinnipiac University (Hamden, Connecticut), Cum Laude, with a B.A. in History. In 2010, she graduated with an M.B.A. from Liberty University (Lynchburg, Virginia). In February 2012, Christina launched HashtagWV as the area’s first full-color, free arts and entertainment tabloid + online platform. Christina completed the Leadership West Virginia class of 2021, which is an innovative program that grows, engages, and mobilizes leaders to ignite a life passion to move West Virginia forward.